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Michael Dell Confirms First U.S. Smartphone Coming in 2010 and Talks About Future Strategies

Maximum PC Staff
Oct 17, 2009

Page 1 of 10

Apparently you just aren’t a real computer company these days unless you have your own smartphone, and Dell is finally ready to
take the plunge
. Details on the new Dell phone for the U.S. market are pretty scarce at the moment, but apparently it may, or many not be based on the Android operating system, and it will be released sometime in 2010.
During an appearance at
FiReGlobal
today, CEO Michael Dell confirmed not just the existence of the device, but its importance to the company’s future.

“Mobility is absolutely the theme” Dell claims, and this will have a big impact on their PC business as well. “T
he only reason people buy desktops today is if you are concerned about price or power, otherwise, laptops dominate”. He also heavily downplayed the significance of the netbook market, predicting that the market share would level off at around 12 to 15 percent. “I think there is some disenchantment and user dissatisfaction…. After 36 hours, you say the screen is too small”.

As for carriers of the new Dell phone, he wouldn’t comment specifically on the AT&T rumor, but he did confirm that China Mobile will carry the launch device and would be the starting point for their entry into the market. As for their long term plans, Dell claims they have left the door open to pursue other platforms, and that future devices may not be Android based depending on how the mobile space plays out.

Perhaps they are waiting to see if Windows Mobile 7 actually catches up to the pack, as Dell traditionally enjoys a pretty cozy relationship with Microsoft.

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